Alibaba is adding virtual reality to its online stores

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has announced plans to incorporate virtual reality (VR) into its online marketplaces, according to Internet Retailer.

The e-tailer plans to use the technology to simulate the experience of shopping in a physical store at home. The consumer will have to use his or her own VR device, such as a VR helmet or VR glasses, and will use a remote to navigate the digital store. Alibaba plans to launch a trial version of the technology in one of its online stores by the end of July 2016, with ambitions to roll it out by the end of the year.

Consumers are greeted by a robotic store associate upon entry into the virtual storefront. The virtual associate will recommend new products to consumers while they're browsing the store, mimicking the in-store experience. Shoppers will also have the option to ask a model to show them how a product is used or how an apparel item is worn. Consumers will be able to easily click to purchase items in the virtual store with the remote.

The focus for Alibaba is on converting physical items into digital three-dimensional items to be used in the virtual stores. The price for digitally converting items is expensive on Alibaba's end, at roughly $50 per product, though Alibaba plans on significantly reducing the cost to a mere $1 per product as it pushes the technology across its online marketplaces.

Alibaba likely sees VR as a way to mirror in-store consumer shopping habits, and siphon more money from brick-and-mortar stores. Sixty percent of US consumers prefer to shop in-store because they can see, touch, and try merchandise, according to a report from PwC. Alibaba may want to look beyond China to the US market for increased use of VR, as 74% of US shoppers anticipate that the implementation of VR into e-commerce will end up impacting their buying decisions, according to a survey from Walker Sands.